


Smile

by insanity_is_just_a_state_of_mind



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, I Made Myself Cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 19:50:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21463588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insanity_is_just_a_state_of_mind/pseuds/insanity_is_just_a_state_of_mind
Summary: The noise around him, oddly muffled and distorted, changed in tone. The roars slowly faded, the shouting and yells dying down, the clash of metal and bone disappearing in the wind. A quiet shock filled the air as the dust settled, blanketing the landscape in a peaceful silence, reminiscent of the first snowfall.He tried to smile.MAJOR ENDGAME SPOILERSTony's final thoughts and interactions with his family.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Smile

_ “I am Iron Man.” _

It was the snap that echoed around the world, around the universe, reverberating in distant stars and faraway nebulas, through vacuums and wormholes, planets and galaxies, endlessly pulsating through a war-torn dimension with a single, unchanging message: 

It’s over.

Tony felt it, too. He’d known what he had been doing when he took the stones, had seen what had happened to Bruce, but there was no other way--

_ One future,  _ Strange had said. One way. One last hurrah.

The pain stinging his cheek and charred hand felt oddly distant, as if it was someone else’s pain instead of his own. He wanted to laugh, wanted to leap to his feet and cheer and revel in their victory,  _ his  _ victory, but he knew, all too well, that it was impossible. 

All good things must come to an end. There would be time for all of that later, for the others, those he left behind; how they would celebrate. He hoped they would. He hoped they knew it’s what he wanted.

The noise around him, oddly muffled and distorted, changed in tone. The roars slowly faded, the shouting and yells dying down, the clash of metal and bone disappearing in the wind. A quiet shock filled the air as the dust settled, blanketing the landscape in a peaceful silence, reminiscent of the first snowfall.

He tried to smile.

He lowered himself to the ground with brittle arms, the silence echoing in his skull. Fog was beginning to descend on his thoughts, warm and welcoming in the sudden stillness.

He became aware that something was touching his cheek, something warm and metal. He raised his eyes to see--

Rhodey. Perfect, dependable Rhodes. Battered, weary, incredible Rhodes. Rhodes, who had to audacity to smile while his best friend died. Tony loved him for that. He wanted him to know, as the tears shone in Rhodey’s eyes, that Tony  _ loved  _ him for that. He wanted to speak, to reassure him, but he could hardly move.

He could see Rhodey’s face that he understood, even as the smile wavered and grief wandered through his gaze, he understood.

He tried to smile.

  
  


“Mr. Stark.”

The kid. Oh god, the  _ kid.  _ Rhodey bowed his head and backed away, allowing them room.

“Hey,” he gasped, hand on his shoulder. “Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It’s Peter.”

With all the energy he could muster, Tony forced his eyes to move to the kid’s face. Face streaked with dust and tears, panic-stricken and horrified, he looked even younger than he was.

“Hey,” he repeated, breathing heavily. “We--we won, Mr. Stark.”

_ I know, kid, _ Tony thought fondly,  _ I know. _

“We won, Mr. Stark.” Peter paused, lips pursed, clearly holding back a sob. Tony’s heart twisted, unable to comfort him: he would have to leave that task to the living. “We won,” he repeated. “You did it sir, you did it.”

He felt Peter’s hand on his chest as the boy bowed his head in anguish. “I’m sorry--” he gasped, and he had nothing to be sorry for,  _ nothing-- _

“Tony...”

It was the first time he’d called him anything other than ‘Mr. Stark.’ Peter, too overcome to continue, allowed himself to be pulled away, tears running down his cheeks, and Tony tried to smile.

  
  


He knew what was coming next, what  _ had  _ to come next, and sure enough: red hair dull with dust, eyes heavy with the weight of the world, lips pursed with untold emotion, she came to him.

_ Pepper. _

“Hey.”

With every last ounce of strength, he squeezed a rattling breath from his dying lungs. “Hey, Pep,” he rasped. He lifted his protesting arm, clumsily laying his hand on hers one last time.

She looked down. “FRIDAY?” she asked quietly.

“Life functions critical,” the AI responds, telling her what they both already knew. He met her eyes, noticing the tears clinging to her eyelashes and pooling on her cheeks, and he tried, he really tried to smile. His lips parted, but nothing escaped.

Somehow, impossibly, she understood. Somehow, she smiled back. “Tony,” she said, and it sounded like a lullaby.

He drifted, the welcoming darkness on the edge of his vision threatening to overcome him. “Look at me,” she whispered, and he gazed up at her one last time, his Pepper, his wonderful, wonderful Pepper, and he tried to smile. 

“We’re gonna be okay,” she murmured. “You can rest now.”

Fires crackled peacefully around them, the heavy silence of an empty battlefield descending on the world, and Tony tried to smile.

And Pepper smiled back.

The dark was vast and comforting behind his eyes, with a promise of tranquility rather than eternity. Safe in the knowledge that all was well, that his loved ones were there and nothing would take them away, Tony Stark allowed himself to fall into that blackness.

His hand fell from hers, landing softly in the dust and the ash and the silence.

**Author's Note:**

> Tony's death was just so poignant, I couldn't leave it alone.
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos!


End file.
